Strategic Seduction

by Cheris Hodges

  Alicia was trying to focus on what the doctor said. Pregnant. How? Well, she knew how it happened, and it made her feel as if wanting to help Vivian bring down Felix was now going to be an idea that Richmond wouldn’t be behind.

  “Any questions?” the doctor asked.

  Alicia shook her head.

  “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Once we get that bag of fluids in you, we’ll check your levels and then you can go home.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Richmond said, then turned his attention to Alicia. “So, what are we going to do?”

  Her heart pounded and she couldn’t think of anything to say. A baby hadn’t been in her plan. Marriage hadn’t been in her plan either. But she couldn’t live her life without Richmond, and the look on his face told her that he wasn’t going to leave without knowing where they were going.

  “We’re going to have a baby and a wedding,” she said with a smile.

  Richmond leaned in and gave her a kiss. “I love you so much.”

  Chapter 24

  Several hours after the groundbreaking, Alicia was wrapped in a blanket lying on the sofa, surrounded by three Crawfords. Solomon flipped the channels on the TV like a kid looking for cartoons before Kandace took the remote from him and handed it to Alicia.

  “Can we let the sick and shut-in have the remote?” Kandace said.

  “So, what’s wrong with you?” Solomon asked as Richmond walked into the living room with three glasses of wine and a bottle of grape juice.

  Alicia sat up and smiled. “I got a little overheated and . . .”

  “My baby didn’t like that,” Richmond said as he handed Alicia her grape juice.

  “B-baby?” Kandace and Solomon said in concert.

  Richmond nodded and handed out the wineglasses. “Now, I’m going to have to keep my fiancée hydrated and rested for a few days.”

  Kandace sat on the edge of the sofa beside Alicia and gave her a tight hug. “You and Serena are about to be mothers at the same time. This is perfect,” she said. “And we’re officially going to be family.”

  Alicia squeezed Kandace’s hand. “We need to talk, alone,” she said.

  “Guys,” Kandace said. “What are we going to eat? You know pregnant women and their friends need to eat. And Houston’s. That would be great.”

  Solomon and Richmond glanced at each other. “Are you guys trying to get rid of us?”

  “Nah, we’re just trying to get some food,” Alicia said, then winked at them.

  Richmond nudged Solomon in the side. “Let’s go.”

  “Text us what you want to eat,” Solomon said as they headed out the door.

  Once they were alone, Alicia sat up and exhaled.

  “What’s going on?” Kandace asked.

  “Before all of this, I thought the only thing that I was going to have to talk to Richmond about was how I want to help Vivian bring Felix down.”

  “Do what? Why do you want to get involved in that?”

  “Because I feel like that’s a part of my past that has been clouding my future. To know that he’s still out there victimizing women makes me ill. What if I had turned him in while we were in college? And he’s in education. Kandace, I can’t just sit back and let this happen.”

  “All right, I can understand that, but how can you trust that she’s a real victim?”

  Alicia shrugged. “But if I go into this with good intentions and it turns out to be a fraud, then it’s not my fault. But I don’t think she’d fake a sex tape.”

  “So, how are we going to do this and what are you going to tell Richmond?”

  “The truth. There’s no way that I’m going to be able to hide this from him. Hell, I need to get her number from his phone.”

  “I think this is a bad idea, but what are you going to do if Richmond doesn’t want to get involved?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that,” she said. “But I have to do this for me—not for Richmond, not for Vivian, but for me.”

  “I got your back, but we’re not doing anything that’s going to put you or the baby at risk.”

  “Did you text them what we wanted from Houston’s yet?”

  Kandace shook her head and pulled out her phone. “Biltmores, red cabbage, and extra onions.”

  Alicia laughed. “Don’t forget extra cheese on the sandwiches.”

  * * *

  “What do you think those two are up to?” Richmond asked as they pulled up to the restaurant.

  “Who knows, but it’s something,” Solomon said. “Quite the turn of events today.”

  Richmond nodded. “For a second there, I thought when she passed out it was because I asked her to marry me.”

  “Are you sure that you’re ready to go down this road? Instant family.”

  “Never been more sure in my life.” Richmond smiled. “This is what love is supposed to feel like.”

  “I told you Alicia was a great woman and you couldn’t be luckier, especially after that thing that you married the first time.”

  “And she keeps popping up. I think that she’s still in Atlanta because of that so-called sex tape thing.”

  “Wait a minute, she made a sex tape? What in the hell is going on?”

  Richmond shrugged and told his brother about Felix’s scheme and how he was still pressing Vivian for a percentage of the money he thought Richmond was going to hand over.

  “Why does he have such a hard-on for you? This seems more personal than anything else. He’s risking his career. I know that kind of money wouldn’t do shit for me,” Solomon said.

  “Spoken like a man who grew up with a silver spoon hanging out of his mouth. This may have something to do with the fact that I decked him at the Atlanta University Center ball.”

  Solomon dropped his head. “So, you came to Atlanta and started living your Lennox Lewis fantasies?”

  “No, but something was going on with him and Alicia. The look on her face just made me want to pummel that fool. He wouldn’t leave her alone, and she clearly wanted him to get lost.”

  “Do they know each other?”

  “From college, I think.”

  Solomon shook his head. “Seems like you’ve opened a can of worms, brother.”

  “That’s why I’ve washed my hands of it. The Atlanta Police Department and Vivian can handle that.”

  “Hopefully he won’t try to come after you now that we’ve announced the groundbreaking. This would be prime time for him to try and start a scandal. Knowing his shortsighted ass, he’d try to get money from the company, and I don’t want to get involved in that.”

  “It’s not going to go that far. I’m sure once the police talk to him, he’s going to let all of this go. Like you said, it’s not a huge amount of money and he has a reputation in the community.”

  “And what does Alicia think of this?” Solomon looked down at his phone. “The food order is finally here. What’s a Biltmore?”

  “As long as there’s no coleslaw involved, I’m good.”

  “There’s red cabbage and extra cheese on it,” Solomon said. “Guessing the Biltmore is a sandwich.”

  After ordering the food and waiting for what seemed like an hour, they finally got the food and headed back to the house.

  “It sure took you guys long enough. I’m starving over here,” Kandace said as she crossed over to her husband and took the bags from his hands.

  “It took you long enough to send me what you ladies wanted, and we have to eat too,” Solomon said.

  “And I had to make sure there was no coleslaw hiding in any of this food,” Richmond quipped.

  “You’re going to end up loving coleslaw like I’ve fallen for lox.”

  Kandace shook her head. “That is the one thing I can live without. I want my salmon cooked and in a croquette.”

  “That sounds delicious,” Alicia said. “Forget all of this, we need salmon croquettes.”

  Richmond and Solomon looked at each other and burst into laughter. “You two play too much,” Richmond
said. “And I was going to break out a good bottle of wine, but Kandace, you messed that up.”

  “Hold up,” Solomon said. “Why do I have to suffer because my wife is being bad? Alicia can’t have any wine, so that just means more for us.”

  “Solomon! I can’t believe you would do me like that. I can withhold things, too.” Kandace shot him a saucy look.

  “I think it’s wrong for all of you to be drinking wine knowing that I love it and can’t have it.”

  Richmond threw his hands up. “Coke for everybody.” He crossed over to Alicia and kissed her on the forehead. “How are you feeling, babe?”

  “I’m a lot better now that you’re here.” She reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

  Solomon unpacked their dinners and he took a seat on the floor beside his wife while Richmond snuggled up with Alicia on the sofa. They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate dinner. Richmond couldn’t help but think of all the time he’d wasted in misery and jealousy. He and his brother could’ve had this kind of relationship for years if they hadn’t been used as pawns in a game they had no business playing.

  Alicia polished off the last bite of her cabbage and turned to Richmond. “I have to say something.” She stroked Richmond’s cheek. “This whole thing with Vivian and Felix is giving me pause. He can’t get away with this, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to help her get justice.”

  “Why?” Richmond snapped. “You don’t owe her a damned thing.”

  “Damn right,” Solomon interjected. “If anything, she should be glad that we didn’t press harassment charges against her. Every time she can’t get into a restaurant or a Broadway show, I get a call from that crazy . . .”

  “Listen, I don’t care about all the things she did in the past, I just know that what Felix is trying to do is wrong. Part of me feels like I could’ve stopped this years ago.”

  Richmond and Solomon exchanged confused looks. “What do you mean?” Richmond asked.

  “Until recently, I never told anyone what happened in college between me and Felix. He tried to . . .”

  Kandace inched closer to Alicia and held her hand. “Take your time,” she said.

  Richmond’s face was a brick of anger as Alicia continued her story. “He tried to assault me, and I never reported it. Finding out what he did to Vivian just had me thinking, what if he’s been doing this for years? What if he’s made victims of the girls at his school? I can’t stand by silently anymore.”

  “So, what are you trying to do?” Richmond asked.

  “I want to reach out to her and help her put that bastard away.”

  Richmond leapt to his feet and shook his head. “I want you to stay as far away from this as possible. Again, you don’t owe anyone a damn thing!”

  “I owe this to myself.”

  “You have more than yourself to think about,” Richmond said, then looked down at her flat belly.

  “Do you think I’m going to put our child at risk?”

  “I think this is a bad idea, and I don’t trust that Vivian is innocent in all of this,” Richmond said. “Let her and the police handle it.”

  Kandace nudged Solomon. “Let’s give them some privacy,” she said as they rose to their feet.

  “Alicia,” Solomon said, “I’m not going to tell you how you should feel about anything that happened to you, but don’t allow this to hurt you by reliving a painful part of your past. Vivian is a con artist, and you don’t have to give her anything.”

  “Just like I said,” Alicia responded, “this isn’t about her. This is about me.”

  Kandace nodded. “Come on, babe,” she said.

  Once Kandace and Solomon had moved to the kitchen, Richmond turned to Alicia and drew her into his arms. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry he hurt you.”

  Alicia cried silently as Richmond hugged her tighter. She hadn’t cried about that night in years. But there was something cleansing about these tears, and knowing that Richmond had her back made her feel as if she had everything she needed to heal properly.

  “I can’t wait to be your wife,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Want to go get married tomorrow?”

  She bit his bottom lip. “Now, you know I can’t do that. Jade and Serena would kill us all.”

  Solomon walked into the living room holding up a bottle of merlot. “Kandace wants to know if this is the good stuff from Paris. Are you two all right?”

  Richmond nodded. “We’re all right and that is the good stuff from Paris, so put it back. We’re not drinking that until my son is born.”

  “Your daughter, you mean. Girls run in my family and I can’t imagine how you and Solomon would ruin a boy,” Alicia said.

  “And you and your girls won’t spoil a little girl?” Richmond said with a laugh.

  “We won’t be any worse than you are with Kiana,” Kandace said, then stuck her tongue out at her brother-in-law. “You better hope for a boy or you’re going to have a houseful of giraffes.”

  The couples laughed and Richmond headed down to the wine cellar to get another bottle of wine.

  “All right,” Solomon said. “I have to do the brother thing here. Don’t hurt Richmond. He’s a really good man and deserves the best. This is pretty much the same thing I told him when he came to Atlanta.”

  “Really?” Kandace asked. “I think I told him to leave Alicia alone, period. But neither one of them listened.”

  “And I’m glad I didn’t,” Alicia said.

  Kandace winked. “Me too.”

  “Me three,” Solomon said. “I’ve never seen him happier and I hope it stays that way.”

  “That is the plan,” Alicia said, then patted Solomon’s cheek. “I love him more than I thought I could ever love someone.”

  Richmond walked into the room with a bottle of pinot noir and glasses. “What did I miss?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” Alicia said. “Just these two telling me I’d better not break your heart.”

  Richmond nodded. “I heard something like that before. And there was a threat.” He shot Kandace a smile.

  “Whatever,” Kandace said. “Is it my fault that I wanted two of my favorite people to be happy?”

  “Let’s watch a movie,” Alicia said as she grabbed the remote. “I bet there is a James Bond movie on somewhere.”

  “As long as it isn’t A View To A Kill,” Solomon said.

  Chapter 25

  Two days later, against Richmond’s objections, Alicia and Vivian were sitting across from each other at Trader Vic’s.

  “Why do you want to help me?” Vivian asked. “I have the police looking into this video, and Richmond doesn’t want to give me what I need to get this creep off my back.”

  “You don’t think giving him money is going to keep him from coming back?”

  Vivian took a sip of her tea and frowned. “I don’t see how everyone in Atlanta doesn’t have diabetes.” She pushed her tea aside and Alicia tried not to forget why she was there.

  “Vivian, you shouldn’t be blackmailed and you never agreed to have that day videoed.”

  Vivian rolled her eyes and picked at her food. “I don’t even remember having sex with him. I think he slipped something in my drink.”

  Alicia shivered. This was worse than she thought. “Did you tell the police that he drugged you?”

  Vivian sucked her teeth. “I get the feeling that the police don’t give a damn about what’s going on.”

  “Why do you think that?” Alicia asked.

  “Because I’ve been here for two weeks and they haven’t said anything to me since I left Richmond’s office. Unless you know something that I don’t.”

  “I know this man works in education, and if he’s making secret videos of women he’s having sex with, he’s committing a crime.”

  Vivian folded her arms across her chest. “Why does any of this matter to you? Seems as if you and Richmond could be sitting back getting your laugh on about it.”

 
; “Vivian, I know Felix from college, and he’s a son of a bitch. I feel as if . . . I don’t want you to be victimized by him.”

  “And what are you going to do, set a sting or some stupid shit?”

  Alicia was ready to back away from the table and tell Vivian how quickly she could go to hell. But she was going to give it one last shot. “Do you really want that video to be held over your head for years to come, or worse yet, do you want him to leak it because he feels like it?”

  “And what am I supposed to do?” Vivian asked.

  “Call him, tell him that you have the money, and we’ll get him on tape talking about the video.”

  Vivian took another sip of her tea. “I’ve done that whole thing with I have the money, let me see you delete the video.”

  Alicia handed her a check for five hundred thousand dollars. “Now you have proof that you have the money.”

  “And suppose I take the money and run?” Vivian fingered the check and smiled.

  “If you did that, then you’d be the trifling bitch that everyone says you are. And I will stop payment on the check.”

  Vivian laughed. “Guess you’ve been talking to Richmond about me, huh?”

  “No, but I see how you operate.”

  Vivian tented her hands underneath her chin. “Really?”

  “I’m not here to argue with you. Either you want my help or you don’t.”

  “All I want is for that video to disappear. If that means I have to work with you, then what choice do I have?” Vivian folded the check and slipped it in her purse. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Alicia smiled. “Send him a picture of the check and set up a meeting. He needs to bring the laptop and give us access to his cloud server to make sure the video is gone. But since we will have him on video admitting that he committed a crime, the police can search his place for additional copies.”

  Vivian nodded. “I can do that.”

  “And make sure this meeting is in a public location. I’ll make sure that everything is recorded.”

  “If he doesn’t bite? Then what?”

  Alicia sucked her teeth. “He will.”

  “The food’s on you, right?” Vivian asked as she rose to her feet.